1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to monitoring and tracking and, more particularly, to a satellite aided location tracking and data services using geosynchronous (GEO) and low earth orbit (LEO) satellites with global locating system.
2. Introduction
Tracking mobile assets represents a growing enterprise as companies seek increased visibility into the status of movable assets (e.g., trailers, containers, etc.). Visibility into the status of movable assets can be gained through mobile terminals that are affixed to the assets. These mobile terminals can be designed to generate position information that can be used to update status reports that are provided to customer representatives.
Mobile terminals can report this position information to a centralized location via a wireless communication network such as a satellite communication network. In general, satellite communication networks provide excellent monitoring capabilities due to their wide-ranging coverage, which can span large sections of a continent. In providing an asset tracking service that can be applied to multiple international markets, it would be desirable to have a mobile terminal that is designed for flexible configuration. This flexible configuration would enable the mobile terminal to operate with various satellite communication systems in operation in the multiple international markets, thereby decreasing the time to market of such devices. What is needed therefore is a single mobile terminal design that enables a mobile terminal to operate with a plurality of distinct satellite communication networks.